


The Box of December

by WillofDark



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: AU, Angst(ish), Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gifts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-06 08:32:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5410082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillofDark/pseuds/WillofDark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Abby they are memories but for everyone else they are stories. The box made the stories but the memories came first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Magical Box

On the first day of December an excited 10-year-old Abby ran down the stairs with purpose. If any of the adults had seen her they would have raised their voice to tell her to slow down. As it was, they were the one who had called her down, just as excited as their daughter, to let her open the first gifts of many. It’s a tradition that has been in the Williams family for years. Every 1st of December the children of the family will get one gift from each of their parents. It’s a happy one, one that even the adults look forward to every year. The delight on their children’s faces makes it worth the extra money spent.

This year, however, was special. There wasn’t any particular reason for that, but for Abby that year was special. It was the year of the box. The year of new beginnings, and endings. Of new friendships and farewells to broken ones. Pretty special for little Abby.

Abby’s eyes fell on the view from the window. She loved the view from the window in the winter season. The village illuminated by the Christmas lights looked unbelievably beautiful with the first snow of the year falling and slowly covering the roofs and the streets.

Little Abby loved fairytales. Her favorite fairytale was about the Princess and the Frog. She didn’t need to imagine a new and spellbinding world because her own was just as magical as in the fairytales. She loved imagining herself as the princess, and the village with all the nice people and her friends a part of her kingdom. She rules it gently and with kindness alongside her parents. She helps the people and say hello to all the kids. Oh, the frog she loves. She’s a clever princess who uses her love to cure the prince who got turned to a squeaky animal.   


‘’Abby, pumpkin.’’ Her dad ruffled her hair and indicated with his hands the gifts on the small coffee table, waiting to be opened by her. She glanced at the gifts and noticed that there was three. With a grin she turned to her mom and dad who was watching her with anticipation, ‘’Three? Who is the third one from?’’

‘’We don’t know, pumpkin. It was in the post and addressed to you.’’ Her dad glanced at his wife who rewarded him with a loving smile.

‘’Thank you!’’ Abby said and hugged them tightly before beginning to unwrap her gifts. She got a silver necklace with a pink princess crown from her mom and from her dad she got a pair of light blue Christmas pajamas. At last, her curious eyes settled on the last gift. She opened it carefully, feeling that it was square shaped and weighty. ‘’Wow.’’

‘’Can we see, dear?’’

‘’It’s a box!’’ She thought it looked very pretty with the flowery art engraved on it.

‘’Try opening the lid, maybe there’s something in there.’’ Her parents were kneeling behind her and looking down as Abby inspected it.

She opened the lid and frowned. There was nothing except for twenty empty small boxes.‘’There’s a note.’’ She handed it to her mom who read it out loudly. ‘’ _To Abby_ , it says. And there’s a smiley.’’

‘’Are you going to keep it?’’ Abby nodded, ‘’I can put my pearls in the boxes.’’

She never asked nor went to find out who it was from. It was magic for her, a special gift for her only, and she loved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original story (By The Brothers Grimm) the princess is quite spoiled and violent (She threw the frog against the wall.)  
> I do believe that little Abby would not think of herself as spoiled nor unkind, thus turning the princess to a kind one, her world to a kind one. Kindness turned the frog into a charming prince. Does this make sense?  
> Definitely too many Christmas cookies.


	2. Guest of Time

One lives through a long and sometimes short life going past strangers on the streets. Once in a while you will meet this one person who stops being a stranger; a stranger who becomes something so much more. A friend. A lover. A partner. Not necessary in that order, and as it is a very unreliable list, sometimes it stays the same for a long time. Things don’t always happen nor turn out the way you wished. Everything would be less complicated if life took the turn one wanted it. Then again, where would all the fun be? 

She knows the figure who would enter the room any minute before he crossed the threshold. She can make out his silhouette through the white curtains as he talked to one of her guests in the entree. She would know him anytime, anywhere and from any distance even though she has not seen him for a very long time. She cannot quite believe that he came. She had sent out the invitation, one of many, with a hopeful wish. Her wish came true. 

He finally enters the sitting room and makes his way through the small crowd without stopping, only nodding to those who recognizes him and whom he knows. She follows his movements with her eyes, taking in his appearance that hasn’t changed, a few notable, by much. She guessed he would grow up nicely in appearance. He even still has the same swagger. _Ah_ , she thinks, he finally arrived at his destination. The small and long table along the wall with all the drinks and delicious homemade food. 

He ignores the food, she sighs, and takes a drink which he drowns in one go. _Some things never change_ she notes with fond recalling. She decides to make a move before he gets caught with more small talk, or worse, manages to sneak away. _Oh,_ _some bones I have._ Abby suppresses a tired groan as she rises from her chair besides the fireplace. She walks slowly, making sure she catches her guests eyes with a smile. Everyone is here and that gives her such a warm feeling.

Gatherings have never been enjoyable in her youth, she always preferred to avoid them. She found it ironic that she had such a dislike for these sort of things. Her family house was always open for gatherings, parties and family visits. She should have gotten used it and loved it, but in that time, so long ago, it was a bother. No privacy, annoying cousins and intrusive aunts. She had mastered the skill of eye rolling fairly quick. Her mom used to tell her,  _Stop it or it will become a habit, darling._ She also told her that she’s overreacting, and perhaps she was. 

These days such affairs are all she looks forward to. Seeing all the people she loves and cares for. Her neighbors, her old work colleges, and some she knows by passing, the familiar ones. She treasures it all every time. 

She waits until he has drunk his second glass before she clears her throat. ‘’Hello, Marcus.’’ She greets him with a clear voice and head held high, waiting with _almost_ impish anticipation. He turns around as if caught in the naughty act. Abby’s smile widens.

‘’Abby!’’ _The idiot._

‘’Well? You can’t just walk in to a party and ignore the hostess.’’

‘’That was not my intention. Really, I just wanted a drink first.’’ 

‘’Your priorities, Marcus, need to be sorted.’’ He always had problems with them. Some of them, at least.

‘’Bit too late for that, don’t you think?’’ Right answer. It’s an old dance. ‘’It’s a nice party you have here. Where’s the music?’’ 

‘’Bellamy is working on it. It’s the player.’’ She tilts her head to the right where a dark haired man is bending with a little babbling girl on his shoulder while working on a small brown player. 

‘’You still have that old thing?’’ He seems genuinely surprised by that, and she wants to remind him of who she is. She’s Abby. She rarely throws anything out, a habit she got from her darling mother. That old player is one she is oh-so very fond of. Even though it’s a menace.

‘’Of course.’’ 


	3. Christmas Science

She met this stranger so many years ago. Her mom knows exactly when but she never told her, but it must have been very early. In her memories, which was lacking at such a young age, she sees a smile and brown eyes, a wavy hand and boxes. He wasn’t the first one to enter her life, as people tend to do. 

She already had five strangers turned friends whom she played with in the backyard of her family house. They were all her good friends. Jake’s mom invited her to cacao every Friday. Jake always drank two cups, but she drank one or else she wouldn’t be able to sleep. Cacao made her loud. Jaha had a soccer so they played with him. They called him Jaha because they couldn’t pronounce his name correctly. He was okay with that. Callie’s doll house was very pretty, and Abby didn’t have one. Jessica had an old dog named Joe. Jessica was nice, Abby liked her. She had met her on the first day of kindergarten. Her dog ran after Abby with his tongue sticking out and she cried. Jessica hugged her and told her the dog just liked her and that he would never do her any harm. _He’s your protector, now._ Jessica died two years later. She was old and sick. Really, she had only three friends before she got a new one.

He would argue and tell her that he wasn’t that _new._ She would laugh and joke that technically she didn’t actually meet him straight away. _You just don’t remember._ He was wrong. She always remembers. 

On the first day of December 11-year old Abby was waiting for her mom and dad to put the gifts on the small coffee table. She was dressed for the occasion. A red sweater decorated with Christmas trees and jingle bells and a black skirt. She heard them talking as they came down the stairs dressed just as fine. Her mom bore three gifts, two big ones and one really tiny. ‘’Who is _that_ one from, mom?’’ She asked, not expecting an accurate answer. ‘’Same as last year, pumpkin. Here you go.’’ Her gifts _, finally._

She opened the small gift, and raised it up for her parents to see. ‘’It’s the same size, isn’t it?’’ Her dad asked and reached for the small object in his daughter’s hand. ‘’There’s something shining inside.’’ 

‘’It’s like crump breads? Isn’t it, dad? Someone is giving me pieces, like a puzzle!’’ Abby allowed herself a moment of triumph for figuring out the purpose of the box. 

‘’What’s shiny?’’ She asked and her dad held up the orb, showing her what he meant. Inside, in the middle of it, a shine so weak could be seen. Abby was fascinated by it. ‘’It looks like a star, doesn’t it?’’ 

‘’Mhm.’’ She took the orb from her dad’s hand and ran upstairs to her room. She went through her stuff, opening drawer after drawer and looking under the bed. She couldn’t find it, the box. _Then,_ she remembered. _At the window!_ She always put her favorite things at the window. There it was. She took it and emptied it, placing the pearls in a glass jar. At last she took the small orb with the star in it and put it carefully in the first empty place in her box. She admired her work, nodding along the way as she closed it and put it on the window place. She would keep it safe. Her box is special and the star would be safe in there. 

* * *

‘’Yeah? You got it repaired?’’ The old player had belonged to her dad; god bless his soul. He loved it, and whenever he was in his office making his way through a pile of essays from his students he would put that _exact_ song that made it possible for him to work. She never quite got ‘round to asking him the name of the song. Some days she would hum it then stop and clap her hands on her mouth. It was her way of trying to get it _right_ , sing the song. 

‘’Yes.’’ She looks at him, then. At his eyes, so different yet unchanged, and it hit her. _He came._

‘’I know what you’re thinking about.’’ Abby looks up, waiting, _no,_ letting him continue. ‘’But don’t. Don’t ask.’’ She wants to ask him why, _why not? I have every right._ But she doesn’t. She can see he is trying to find the right words. 

‘’It’s strange. You have sent me so many, probably many more than I received. I won’t apologize for being selfish. It’s –‘’

‘’- in a human’s nature to be selfish. I know that, Marcus. I remember that.’’ A man of science and facts, he is. She loves that about him, but she misses the Marcus without the facts. Science and Christmas. _You can’t call me that, Abby!_

_Why not? You are so grumpy and happy at the same time, you are Santa!_

_It’s not a thing. Christmas is not science._

He would argue and tell her she needs to sort her facts right. She would laugh and joke that he needs to sort his priorities.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Science and Christmas? Some Nargles must be influencing my mind.


	4. The Burning Stars

Five years in the timeline of the box, and on the first day of December Abby got the same gift wrapped in red and silver. An orb, inside it, in the middle, a star could be seen, every time shining stronger. Three times it was just empty. No star. 

‘’No star?’’ Abby nodded at her friend Jake Griffin. At the age of 16, almost 17, Abby was aware of their mutual attraction which neither was acting upon, yet. They had kissed once, two years ago, and had decided to wait. He had a girlfriend and he was 16 at the time. Her dad would have thrown a tantrum and Jake liked his girlfriend, so did Abby. It was so easy to move on. 

‘’It’s weird. I thought that this time perhaps there would be a star. You know, third time’s the lucky charm.’’ 

‘’You know-‘’ He made a face, ‘’-you are worrying too much about this. Maybe your Secret Santa ran out of stars.’’ Jake liked the idea of the box and had used some time on tracing and looking for clues in hope of finding out who the giver was. That is, until he got bored after no results. 

Jake looked at Abby who was tracing the orb with a pout formed on her lips. ‘’Come on, Abby.’’ He inclined his head to the comfy-looking place beside him, inviting her to a cuddle. That seemed to extract her from her worry. ‘’Okay, repeat the names of the bones again.’’ 

* * *

 ‘’Of course you do.’’ He is studying her face, as if looking for something that he himself didn’t know. She felt quite uncomfortable standing beside the food table talking about these _things_. She don’t want to attract more attention than the both of them already have. Of course, they would. Most of her guests knew that she sent invitations to everyone, even him and that he never showed up. _Until today._

‘’I think we should sit. These legs aren’t what they once were.’’  He nodded absently and gently put his hand on her shoulder so they could walk together to the nearest chairs. 

‘’Kane! Old guy, how are you?’’

‘’Good, good.’’ A pause. ‘’Abby, who was that?’’

‘’That, Marcus, is Julian, Sinclair’s son. Remember him?’’

‘’Yeah, sure.’’ 

They finally sit and gets comfortable. Neither of them start talking, so they revert to looking around and avoids each other’s gazes. She wants to say something. Has she not pictured how their meeting would be, what she would say? But she can’t. It’s an old dance. _Come on tell me, Abby._

_No, mister. You start because I always start._

‘’How are you, Abby?’’ And before she answers he continues with a small sigh. ‘’Don’t respond to that, yet. Look, I know I deserve this silence, this greeting. You are obviously not happy with me.’’

‘’That’s an understatement.’’ She leans forward, making sure he’s looking directly at her. ‘’This silence, Marcus, is me. Time after time, I hoped and then I stopped.’’ 

‘’Stopped what?’’

‘’I stopped caring.’’ _But then you came and perhaps I hadn’t stopped caring, after all._  

He looks hurt at her admission and makes a move with his hand, places it on his chest just over his heart. ‘’Auch.’’ 

* * *

‘’Auch! That hurt, Abby!’’

‘’You weren’t looking, that’s why!’’ The snowball hit her face before she knew it and she fell on her ass, laughing. ‘’You softy, that was clearly not your best shot.’’ 

She walked over to him, giving him her hand to hold onto. ‘’Get up, let’s go home to me. My mom is making us cacao.’’ 

He grinned at her. ‘’This is not over.’’

She gave a him a small smile. ‘’That’s what you always say.’’

Abby’s family house was decorated. It looked cozy and warm with the golden lights hanging from roof to ground. Her dad’s old blinking reindeer catching the eyes of newcomers, and everyone, with its blinking lights, as if it’s moving across the house. A lovely vision. As they reached the door Abby caught a shadow above her head and she knew what it was as she felt Marcus stop walking, his own gaze on it. A mistletoe.

 _Who put that?_ She turned to Marcus to say something, anything, but stopped as she saw the expression on his face. The lights showed his features looking ever so soft and there was a smile on his face, and he was moving closer. She watched him with wide eyes, _what.._ ‘’It’s a mistletoe. Can I-‘’

‘’Finally! They are here, Mrs. Williams.’’ Jake with his big IT’S CHRISTMAS sweater opened the door with a cacao in his left hand and smiled widely at both of them. 

‘’Get in, come on!’’ Marcus seemed to shake himself and he moved through the door, giving Jake a nod. Leaving Abby and Jake standing in the doorway.

‘’Oh, look at that! It’s a mistletoe.’’ Jake had put the cup of cacao on the small shelf in the corridor and had moved forward so gracefully she didn’t believe it was Jake. ‘’Can I kiss you, Abby?’’ How long had she wanted to kiss Jake? 

‘’Yes.’’ She breathed out, forgetting for a moment that he had a girlfriend, that he was taken. Everything was Jake at this moment, facts didn’t count. 

He kissed her. His lips touching hers softly. His warm and hers cold, a perfect combination; meant to be.

 _What about his girlfriend?!_ As if he heard her small shout, he let go. ‘’Mistletoe, yeah?’’

Abby nodded. She knew what he meant. _Just this for now, tradition and all._

They went inside and he touched her back as he took his cacao, leading her inside to the kitchen. Neither noticed the third person with his back to the wall. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline got a bit wibbly wobbly. The kiss at the end happens in the past before the 'No stars' part.  
> Someone should give Marcus a big bear hug.


	5. Pearl

‘’Grandma!’’ At the sound of a little voice, they both turn their head, hurriedly putting a smile on their faces. 

‘’Hello, darling.’’

‘’Daddy made the music.’’ 

‘’Did he now?’’ Her granddaughter nods happily, proud of her dad. ‘’Hear it, grandma!’’ As the song begins her guests start cat whistling and cheering. ‘’Good one, Bellamy!’’ 

_♪I’ll be waiting under the mistletoe_

_While you’re traveling here through the winter snow_

_Baby think of me if it helps to get you home♪_

Abby smiles to herself when she hears the familiar song. She loves this one so much, it’s always been a favorite of hers. She looks at her granddaughter who is jumping to the left and the right in rhythm with the song. So very like her mother and father, a combination of both. Blue eyes and dark brown hair, curly at the ends. Her sweet personality so much her own.

‘’Come here, Pearl.’’ Her granddaughter turns and climbs on her grandma’s lap. She glances at the other occupant who is observing her with kind eyes. She waves at him. He looks a little shocked but waves back, and then settles his gaze on her grandma, just like her dad looks at her mom.

_♪When the only things I really need_

_Is to have your arms wrapped around me_

_Baby think of me if it helps to get you home_

_Home This Christmas♪_

Pearl snuggles and rests her head on her grandma’s shoulder and whispers, ‘’The magical box story, pretty please?’’ 

‘’The Magical Box?’’ Abby takes a deep breath and looks at Marcus who heard her granddaughter’s loud whisper. She could forgive this when he’s looking so sheepish and nervously playing with his hands. ‘’Once upon a time, a very long time ago, a box appeared on the sidestep of a little girl’s house…’’ 

* * *

 ‘’You’re going?’’

Marcus looked up in surprise. He hadn’t heard the door.

‘’Vera opened to me. Told me you were packing.’’ A pause. ‘’Were you going without telling me?’’ 

‘’You wouldn’t understand.’’ She gaped at him, inwardly hurt but outwardly her expression showing anger that she didn’t feel. ‘’I don’t?’’ He nodded. 

‘’You wouldn’t, and it doesn’t matter, anyway.’’ 

‘’It matters to me! What kind of friend would I be if I _you_ didn’t matter?’’ Marcus’ face flushed, his cheeks getting tinged with red, but he continued packing without a second glance at her. She moved closer to him. 

‘’You can’t go now. It’s almost Christmas. _You_ would never miss a Christmas.’’  

He turned to her so quickly she didn’t have time to process it. ‘’Don’t tell me what I would or wouldn’t!’’ 

‘’Marcus-‘’

‘’No. I never miss _a Christmas_ , okay? So here!’’ He withdrew something from his jacket pocket and put it in her hand. Time seemed to stand still as she took in the object in her hand. But time never stood still and Marcus had already put everything in his bag and was moving towards the door.

’I knew it was from you.’’ He stopped in the doorway, not moving, waiting for her to say more. She didn’t.

He managed to croak one word. ‘’When?’’ 

‘’Does it matter?’’

‘It matters to me!’’ Echoing her words from earlier. Of course, it would mean a lot to him. _Stupid Abby_ , she thought. She never realised _this._ Never realised him nor how deep his feelings for her were.

‘’Before the graduation ball. Callie saw you tearing a piece of paper after Jake asked me out as his date.’’

‘’Okay.’’ He nodded to himself, reassuring himself, accepting of how things have turned out. She wanted to comfort him but knew that she couldn’t, so she said the only thing she thought about and that would _matter._

‘’I loved the stars. It makes me sad they went away.’’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is 'Home This Christmas' by Justin Bieber


	6. The Last Ten

‘’Then one day the magical box stopped getting bigger and-‘’

‘’She’s fallen asleep.’’ Marcus says. Abby looks down at her darling Pearl and indeed she’s fallen asleep. The music had died down and everyone are either eating or sitting and enjoying the company of each other. 

‘’She’s been jumping around all day or else she would have been listening till the end. She loves the story.’’ 

‘’It’s a nice story.’’ Marcus murmurs so lowly that she almost can’t hear. 

‘’It is.’’ She says.

He looks away. Dark eyes surveying the room. ‘’ The boy.. The boy in the story. You only mentioned him once. Is he unimportant?’’ 

She feels a twist in her heart but that can’t be right. ‘’No, he is important. It was his magical box.’’ 

‘’Will you tell me what happen to him?’’ _Sure_ , she thinks. _A tale for the adults._

‘’Once upon a time there was a boy who saw this girl. A girl who lived in her own real world where she spread all her kindness. He wanted to be her friend so he sent her his magical box. He did not tell her it was his even after he became her friend.'' Abby's eyes are closed and she is speaking with such a soft tone that it carries out into the room as if to caress and heal her festive crowds souls.

''The girl loved the magical box with her whole heart and her heart was big. Stars began to rain down upon the magical box and she danced under them. One day the stars stopped and she cried. She thought it was her fault. She tried to heal the stars and get them back with her kindness...’’

‘’It wasn’t your fault, Abby.’’ Marcus’ voice interrupts her story and she notices that everyone close by is listening. Bellamy, Clarke and her eldest grandchild, Jacob. Octavia and Lincoln with his absurd hat and Callie, who already knows the story. 

She turns her head from them and looks at Marcus. ‘’Don’t you think I figured that out after all this time? That’s why I never gave up, why I sent you all these invitations. Because I knew someday you would come back.’’

She lets out a shaky breath. ‘’I wanted my best friend back.’’ She gestures to Bellamy to come and take his daughter.

He takes Pearl and leans forward, ‘’Personally, I think this Kane is an idiot.’’ She swats him on his shoulder. A small part of her agreeing with him. 

‘’Go. Put your daughter in bed.’’

Abby gets up from her chair and walks out to the balcony. Marcus’ steps follows her until they both are standing outside watching the view of the village. How many times have they stood here looking out? Protecting the village with their gazes. So many times, so many endless memories. For a time, after he left the village, she thought about their friendship and if they ever were friends, if there was a time where he didn’t feel what he left unsaid. 

Then she began to think about the possibilities. She would never have given up Jake but the _possibilities._ Jake, Marcus and Abby. A trinity, unbreakable they would have been. Marcus as Jake’s best man. Marcus as Clarke’s godfather. Marcus and Callie. So many unlived days, the days that never came. Then she stopped thinking at all. She started hoping.

‘’I couldn’t be there and stand in the way of your and Jake’s happiness. I couldn’t. It hurt. That’s why I chose to be selfish and ran away.’’

‘’You didn’t even come when Jake passed away, Marcus.’’

‘’How could I? More than you, I let Jake down.’’ She cannot see his face but she knows that his expression will pain her. His posture is so rigid that she’s afraid that any movement will have him break. She gives him this last one. He’s here now and that’s what matters. 

‘’Jake forgave you a long time ago. I have, too.’’ He runs his hands on his face and his shoulders sag as if her words have relieved him of a burden. 

‘’I have something for you. A gift.’’ He pulls a small velvet sack from his blazer pocket and reaches out for her hand, holding it for a bit before placing the sack gently in her hand. She opens it and her heart skips a beat and swells in a very familiar way, memories rushing back to her. 

‘’I.. _This_ gift is for you, I wanted to send them to you. I imagined your face when you saw them and how you would run upstairs and put them in the box. But I didn’t. I kept them.’’ He moves forward to hug her and she leans in and wraps her arms around his waist.

‘’You see, Abby, the little boy who fancied this girl never stopped looking at the stars.’’ She looks at him with tears streaming down her face and he looks at her, as if she is the stars. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'So many unlived days, the days that never came' - The original quote is from Doctor Who, the Rings of Akhaten.  
> And on this note, I wish you all a Merry Christmas.


End file.
